Episode 820: The Posing Pineda Edition
Date February 17, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam banter about a picture of Michael Pineda, then answer emails about deferred contracts, players they wish would write books, Michael Jordan the minor leaguer, and more. Topics * Deferred money contracts * Team strategies for signing free agents * Baseball books you would like to read * Teams with best and worst substitute players * Michael Jordan's baseball career Intro Jethro Tull, "Fat Man" Outro The Golden Dogs, "Birdsong" Monty Python and the Holy Grail sound clip Banter * Fat player photos: Michael Pineda * Ben and Sam review the photo of Michael Pineda and then look at other player photos taken from a similar spot in the parking lot. Email Questions * John (Chicago, IL): "Let's say you are Mark Attanasio, the owner of the Brewers, and you were looking to raise the value of your team. Are there any rules preventing Mark from offering ridiculous deferred salaries? For instance, in 2018 signing Bryce Harper to a 10-year, $600 million contract with 75% deferred over the following 10 years. Then, as the Brewers success raises their financial prospects Mark would sell the team for a large profit before the deferred contract bills arrive. Along those lines, is a player's deferred salary guaranteed if his team files for bankruptcy?" * Ben (San Francisco, CA): "If enough attention is paid to the net present value of contracts, My question is assuming that the agent gets paid right away, not over the next 21 years, does he get paid his percentage of the full notional value of the contract (the $161 million) or the net present value which is closer to $147 million? If it's the former, which I suspect it is, the agent is incentivized to delay payment for as long as possible to ensure the maximum notional size. From the team's perspective, as long as they are free to set aside money at whatever schedule they please to offset future obligations, it seems also in their best interest to drag things out." * James: "Just over five years ago the Texas Rangers were in a bidding war for free agent Cliff Lee. In the days before Lee's official departure from the Rangers the team's front office announced they'd offer Lee a "menu of options". This menu presumably featured fluctuating year lengths, annual earnings, options, and clauses, thereby this menu was an early indicator that the Rangers were not entirely clear on what mixture of years, annual income, options, and clauses, Lee most preferred. My question is are there any situations in which a menu of options is an effective free agent strategy in final negotiations? Will it always be an indicator that the team is at least a bit tone deaf to the player's priorities? Also, why would the Rangers organization announce this menu to the media if it informed every organization that they weren't entirely sure what Lee most wanted?" * Jason (Palmyra, NJ): "If you could commission any current major leaguer to write a book for your entertainment, so the only requirement would be that it is interesting to you, not that it would be profitable, who would you choose? Would it depend more upon a great backstory? Would you choose someone with a fascinating career arc? Would it depend more upon a player's candidness, his writing ability, the people he encountered in his career? Or something else entirely?" * Chris: "The popular narrative in discussing Michael Jordan as a AA baseball player is to laugh it off as a bonfire of his vanity or decry it as costing a faceless career baseball player his maybe only chance to make an impression. I think it's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. He was past his athletic prime, playing a sport he hadn't played for at least 15 years. He walked over 50 times in fewer than 500 plate appearances, he stole 30 bases. I think it's amazing that a non baseball life could play at AA and strike out only a quarter of the time. It's not that he only hit .200, it's incredible that he could hit as high as .200." Play Index * Sam used the Play Index to look at which team's substitute players (pinch hitters/runners, defensive replacements, etc.) played the worst during the 2015 season. * The Detroit Tigers' substitute players were worst in 2015 with a .455 OPS. The average was a .618 OPS and the Houston Astros had the best substitutes with a cumulative .852 OPS. Notes * Ben and Sam are interested in reading a book by Brandon McCarthy. Sam says "I would read Brandon McCarthy's vampire novel." * Ben would also be interesting in hearing about Josh Donaldson's career trajector. Sam mentions Brandon Wood as another option. * In a hypothetical scenario where LeBron James was playing baseball, Ben thinks he would get bored of watching after 10 or so minor league games. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 820: The Posing Pineda Edition * Photo of Michael Pineda Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes